Coulomb blockade and staircases in self-organized Ag nanoclusters on Sb-terminated Si(100) surfaces

Nanometer sized Ag clusters with uniform size distribution were self-organi zed on an Sb-terminated Si(100) surface. Tunneling spectroscopy showed that the conduction properties of the Ag nanoclusters gradually changed from se miconducting to metallic with the increase of Ag coverage owing to the onse t of surface conduction channels between adjacent Ag nanoclusters. In the l ocal tunneling current-voltage measurements, Coulomb blockade and staircase s were clearly observed at room temperature. These phenomena are well descr ibed by the lateral tunneling between the Ag nanoclusters.